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.Letters Patent No. 98,870, dated .January 18, 1870.

IIIPRCVEMENT. WRECKING-TQNGS OR EXCAVATORS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

I, ROBERT HUNTER, .of Charleston, in the district of Charleston, andSt-ate of South Carolina, have invented a new and useful Wrecking-Tongs or Excavators, and do hereby describe the same, i

.Nature and ,Objects of the Invention.

The subject of my invention in its complete form is an apparatus for'recoveringsnnken freight, Snc., from wrecks, or for submarine excavation, by means of grappling tongs or va scoop.A

lheist part ot the in vention relates to the'construction of the-tongs or scoop proper, consisting in the provision of opening arms or levers for the attachment of the lowering rope or chain. f`

The second part ot' the invention consistsl in the employmentor use, in connection with'such tongs or scoop, ot a novel combination of supporting and operating-devices.

Description of Drawing.

The accompanying drawing represents, in elevation, the apparatus as a wrecking-tongs, applied to a boat and iu4 4nse,the tongs being shown in a raised and lowering position.

' General Description.

The tongs or scoop A consists of' the customary pairpf hinged jaws a. a', composed of fingers or dished lates.

p Arms or levers B C, B C' project obliquel y upward from the respective jaws a a of the tongsor scoop A, and serve, by the, attachment to them respectively of tile elerating and lowering ropes or chains D E, to close and open the jaws automatically, as the same are being raised or lowered.

Eyes or-peribrations l) b', c c', in the arms B B', C C',

are provided for the attaclnnent of the ropes or chains `D .E to them, and may be duplicated in the former, as

represented, or in both, if preferred, to enable varia tion in theattachment of the ropes or chains, as required.

'.logglecl iains F G5, or their equivalent, form the media of attachment of the. ropes or chains D E to the arms B B' O C', and enable them to act on said arms, as stated.

The ropes or chains D E are carried over elevated pulleys H I, in a crane, J, or its equivalent, and may be actuated in any' suitable manner.

A rod or stem, K, attached. by a clip, L, to the pivot a of the tongs or scoop A, and working in a suitable socket. M, iu the -craue J or its equivalent,

forms a guide in lowering the tongs or scoop, enables it to be held on the bottom whlethe object-sought Ifor is being found, or to be pressed into the bottom, and forms a convenient means for the application of a. brake to hold itin an elevated or depressed position.

For the latter purpose, said stem is provided, on one side, with a rack, la, meshing with a cog-wheel, N, in its socket M, its rear abutment being formed by a roller, O.A

` The brake is applied to a disk, P, on the shaft of the cog-wheel N, and may be Ot' any preferred librm.

The crane J, when employed, may be. swivelled in the deck of a boat, Q, as shown, or rigidly supported.

Ordinary boats or vessels ma-y be adapted for the employment ot the tongs or scoop, by the provision of a vertical socket for the stem J, and a pair of blocks for the raising and lowering ropes .D E, on a boom, gait', orother crossspar.

'The vertical guiding ot' the tongs or scoop is important, as enabling it to be ni'uch more readily applied,

and enabling a great saving in power, owing to the direct application of the same.

By the provision of the operating-arms, the results heretofore iinperfectly accomplished by attaching the.

lowering rope to -the outer sides of the jaws of the tongs or scoop are produced without the objections to said mode, ot' increased liability to hang, difficulty of managing, Sac. Said arms may be employed on the common grapplingtongs.

The stem J may also be used in connection with tongs or scoops unprovidcd with such arms.

Claims.

I claim, as newrope or chain E, as herein` represented and described. 2. ,In the described combination, the tongs or scoop A a a', crane J M, opening and lowering-devices C (.l"

G E I, closing'and elevating-devices B B' F D H, and governing-device K lo N O P, constructed .and ar ranged as represented and set forth, for thep-urposes shown. i

To the above specification of my improved wrecking-tongs or excavator, I have set my hand, this 6th day of November, 1869, in the presence ot two sub# scribing witnesses. Y

ROBERT HUNTER;

Witnesses:

F; M. RONAN, M. J. OBBIEN. 

